Block by Block

The Valuable Lesson of Living With Less

Posted on April 19, 2013 by unitedwaygkc

Wahi Kambron-Jones has taught his children many things: How to ride a bike, how to cook, how to play basketball, how to build a campfire. He also realizes that there are things he simply cannot teach his four teen-agers. So when Kambron-Jones decided to participate in a Poverty Simulation workshop later this month offered by the United Way of Greater Kansas City, he decided he wouldn’t do it alone.

He registered his wife and their blended family of four children, ages 19, 17, 16, and 15. He heard of the workshop through his employer, UMR in Overland Park, where he donates to United Way through a workplace campaign. “I thought it was great,” he says. “I thought it would be something that would be very informative. And then I thought, ‘why don’t we bring the kids’.”

After all, understanding poverty is an invaluable lesson that ultimately helps the community where you live, Kambron-Jones says. “Community starts at home. If it doesn’t, then you are not doing much good,” he says.
The poverty simulation workshop is designed to help participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a typical low-income family trying to survive from month to month.

Kambron-Jones, himself, grew up with two brothers and two sisters in what he describes as a blue-collar working family in Houston. His dad worked at United Airlines helping to direct airplanes at the airport’s gates. His mom worked in sales for MCI telephone company. Kambron-Jones is raising his family in a middle-class household in Raytown. His wife is a pharmacy technician. “Everything is about perspective,” he says. “You need to know where you are in terms of the world.”

He doesn’t feel his children fully understand certain things about economics. Certainly, they don’t have an understanding about what is poverty. And, most importantly, what it would be like to live in poverty.

“There are a lot of life decisions coming on,” Kambron-Jones says of his children. “I hope this makes them better informed to adjust to adult life, to know what are the pitfalls and the consequences of having to live without.”

The workshop is an invaluable experience, says community volunteer Jimmie Stark. Stark was among a group of United Way board of trustees who participated in the poverty simulation a few years ago. It was insightful because you are given a unique point of view of understanding the hurdles people in poverty face, Stark says.

Especially revealing to Stark was the issue of transportation. “You realize how difficult it is to get a job, get to your job, get your children to child care, when you don’t have reliable transportation,” Stark says. “Those of us who have the luxury of two cars that are either new or working well, you really don’t think about how challenging it is to get a job when you don’t have transportation.”

Click here for more information about our poverty simulation workshop – Walking the Financial Tightrope

I Hug at Least One Client a Day

Posted on March 15, 2013 by unitedwaygkc

Jacob Atkins thinks his initial image of how he would help in a community as an AmeriCorps volunteer was typical. “I was expecting hammer and nails kind of jobs – maybe tutoring,” the 22-year-old Atkins says. Instead, Atkins has been preparing taxes.

Atkins is one of eight AmeriCorps volunteers working in Kansas City since January at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. United Way of Greater Kansas City and KC CASH Coalition are partnering again this year to provide free tax assistance sites for low-income families throughout the metro area through April 15.

The tax assistance sites are located at 20 nonprofit agencies, churches and community colleges.
Atkins has been working at the “Super Site,” at the Full Employment Council in Kansas City.
Atkins, a native of Brunswick, Maine, said there were several reasons he chose to volunteer for AmeriCorps.

“I had wanderlust,” he says. “I really wanted to see other parts of the country.” Being assigned to Kansas City was a pleasant surprise for Atkins. “My mom went to the Art Institute so I thought it was serendipitous because my mom died in 2007,” Atkins says. “It was a good chance to see the environment she lived in.”

What he wasn’t prepared for when he arrived here was being a tax preparer. “I was nervous. I don’t like numbers,” Atkins says. “But it is really cool to say now that I am an IRS-certified preparer.”

The experiencee of helping people with their taxes, Atkins says, has its unique challenges.
Composure is key. “You have to have a straight face with adversity right in front of you,” Atkins says.
Empathy is crucial, especially in the wake of the effects of the recession. “I have been putting myself in other people’s shoes and not judging them,” he says.

Fellow AmeriCorps volunteer Shannon Wunderlich says she was interested in the different kind of impact she would make by preparing taxes. “It doesn’t sound as glamorous as building homes, but it can have a serious benefit for the community,” Wunderlich says.

“It blows my mind to see how little people are able to survive on,” says 23-year-old Wunderlich, who grew up in a middle-class family in West Palm Beach, Florida. “We never really struggled. Still these people are the most polite, upbeat and grateful people,” she says. “You really don’t need as much as you think you do. Sometimes I wish we could help more because some situations are so dire.”

Atkins agrees. “You are a liaison in a way,” he explains. “People are serving you their life story on a platter. It is your job to interpret it any way you want. You have to respect the journey they have been on.
“There is crying, sometimes because they owe a lot or are receiving a big refund,” Atkins says. “I hug at least one client a day.”

More Information About the Free Tax Assistance for Low Income Families
Hundreds of Kansas City families with a household income of $57,000 or less may be eligible for a refund they don’t even know about. Additionally, thousands may need help filing their income tax returns but can’t afford to access the help they need.

A list of all VITA site locations and the hours each is open is available by visiting www.kccash.org, www.unitedwaygkc.org or by dialing 2-1-1 or (816) 474-5112. The United Way 2-1-1 call center is open 24 hours a day.

In addition, taxpayers whose household income is less than $57,000 can also access www.MyFreeTaxes.com/kc to prepare and file their 2012 income taxes for free. Individuals can use the site on their own or can come to one of three assisted self-preparation VITA sites to have a volunteer assist them with using the free tax website.

The assisted self-preparation sites, which offer multiple computers for accessing MyFreeTaxes.com, are located at Independence Center Mall, Housing Authority of KCMO, Catholic Charities Northeast Kansas-OPKS and Catholic Charities Northeast Kansas-Olathe.

Taxpayers who utilize one of the free tax assistance sites should bring the following items with them:
• A Social Security card or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for each family member
• Birthdates for each person listed on the tax return
• A valid picture ID (driver’s license, state ID, passport)
• W-2 forms for every job worked in 2012
• Interest and dividend statements from banks (Form 1099)
• The family’s childcare provider’s name, address and tax ID number
• Any other tax-related documents received
• A copy of the household’s 2011 income tax return
• A voided bank check for automatic deposit
In addition, every adult who will be listed on the return must be present in order to sign the completed return.

Good Minds Good Hearts

Posted on January 29, 2013 by unitedwaygkc

Joyce Griffin is a good person who does a lot for her community. She is a Eucharistic Minister at her church. She has volunteered at her children’s school. She has given blood. And she has done other people’s income taxes. For free.

“This is really a unique way to help people,” Joyce says. “There is nothing wrong with other volunteer opportunities, but those who do this really do have to have specialized skills that not everyone has.”

It’s a good thing that people with good minds for numbers also have a good heart. Joyce is among about 350 volunteers who help United Way of Greater Kansas City and KC CASH Coalition each year with their free tax assistance program. This year’s program is now underway.

Joyce was there at the very start, playing an integral part in getting the coalition and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program going. The first tax site was opened in early 2003. A year later, Joyce established a tax assistance site at Kansas City, Kan., Community College where she was an instructor.

Joyce immediately saw the potential of involving her students in the tax work as part of their course work. “I thought it would be a really good opportunity for them to get practical experience,” Joyce says. “I thought it would be a real resume builder for them. “Also, I thought it would give them a chance to give back to the community and get involved in community service,” she adds.

There were 15 students working the site in early 2004. They helped get 450 tax returns done that first year. Then something happened. People were so pleased with the experience, they told friends and family.

“Our number of clients grew,” Joyce says. “And some students had such a good experience that they came back just to volunteer – even though they didn’t get any credit.” Last tax season there were 50 volunteers at the site, including 22 students. There were 1,300 tax returns completed.

Over the years, there has been something more than just college work being accomplished by the students at the Kansas City, Kan., Community College tax assistance site. ”I saw real personal growth,” Joyce says. “Some of the students were very timid, very afraid of the experience of interacting. Some students were so scared they didn’t want to go into the waiting room to get their first clients.” Joyce went with them.

“But, by April, they were like professionals,” Joyce says. “In just a few months’ time they really grew professionally and personally. They became more outgoing and more confident.”

Something unique happened at the community college site. It became a family affair for Joyce. Her mother, Elaine Kramer, a retired registered nurse, began helping as a greeter at the site in 2006. Greeters help those waiting for tax assistance. And two of Joyce’s daughters also have helped with the returns.

Joyce has retired from her college job so she is no longer the site coordinator. Instead, she will be returning to the site in a different role this year: Volunteer.

One experience really stands out among Joyce’s memories of her years supervising the site. It involved an elderly couple who, during the course of doing their tax return with a student, shared the fact that they were taking care of their grandchildren. The student realized that the couple could list the grandchildren as dependents, which greatly increased the couple’s refund.

“It really showed the student’s listening skills were at work,” Joyce says. “The woman started crying because their car was having problems and hardly could be driven. She had a job but didn’t know if she would be able to keep the job because of the car’s condition.

“The student was just amazed,” Joyce adds. “She told me, ‘I had no idea I could affect someone’s life like this.’ Every since then the couple has come back every year. That is something I have never forgotten.”

We’re Changing People’s Lives

Posted on January 7, 2013 by unitedwaygkc

Kim Rowland is having a hard time hiding her emotions. “I am so sorry,” she says while wiping tears off her cheek. “We’ve just met the coolest people doing this.”

What Kim and three of her coworkers from the Ford Kansas City assembly plant have been doing is creating access for people across Kansas City by building outdoor wheelchair ramps. So far, 19 ramps have been built – all free for the homeowners.

There is now a ramp for a former professional wrestler whose bulked-up body, suffering career-bruising effects, is too often too much for family members to assist up and down stairs.

There is now a new ramp for a young man who is living with cerebral palsy. His old ramp irregularities caused his electric wheelchair to tip over, forcing him to find another way to get to his car. “He had to scoot on his bottom down the steps, down the deck, across the driveway to his car,” Kim says. “Now, he’s able to get out. He can get outside.”

There is now a ramp for a retiree who became practically homebound after suffering a series of heart attacks and strokes. “He couldn’t go out with his friends,” Kim says. “Now he can meet with his friends. It’s the little things like that.”

The ramp project got its start in Detroit as a partnership with UAW Ford and the Ford Motor Co. It was such a success, the United Auto Workers and Ford decided to expand it to other cities, including Kansas City. United Way of Greater Kansas City helped to establish the program locally by recruiting partners that serve low-income disabled and elderly adults and by working out the logistics of how recipients would be identified and screened.
The Ford workers in Kansas City got help in the beginning on how to build the ramps from volunteers from Metro Lutheran Ministry, a United Way partner agency.

Ford is paying the ramp builders a 40-hour work week. The UAW bought the supply trailer and donated $25,000 for materials, which are being purchased at a discount from Home Depot, says Kim, who chairs the community services committee of UAW Local 249.

The first ramp was built for Dorothy English, who felt like a television star the day the work was being done outside her front door. “You know the show, the one with the bus, and the people get their house remodeled,” Dorothy said, referring to the television program, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” “I’ve always wished this and I got my wish,” Dorothy says.

The ramp to Dorothy’s house means her 81-year-old mother will no longer have to be carried up the steps. “Having a ramp is such a blessing,” Dorothy says. “It’s really something. I can’t even explain the joy.”

Equally joyful were Joe and Davita Haynes, the recipients of the most recent ramp build. The ramp is needed for 12-year-old William Haynes, who suffered a traumatic brain injury when he and his parents were involved in a car accident. William was just six weeks old.

The family of eight moved into a larger house in Northeast Kansas City in 2011 so William would have more room for his wheelchair. But the house’s front steps are becoming more difficult for family members to carry a growing William – who now stands 5 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds. Davita already has had a hernia operation as a result of helping William.

Now a ramp is overcoming the five concrete steps to Haynes’ front door. “I’m so happy,” Davita says. “We didn’t have the money to build a ramp. So many things have fallen through for William. This is going to make life so much easier.”

Kim Rowland stopped for a moment from using her portable table saw to cut the lumber for William’s ramp. She reflected on what she and her team are accomplishing by helping Dorothy, the wrestler, the retiree, the young man with cerebral palsy, William Haynes and the 14 other people who have had a ramp built. Kim is overwhelmed. The tears that moisten her eyes glimmer in the bright January sunshine as she sums the experience in one simple sentence: “We’re changing people’s lives.”

A Room with a View and a Purpose

Posted on December 19, 2012 by unitedwaygkc

It’s a room with a view – and a purpose.
Tuck yourself in for a night in a special room at Hotel Phillips as a special way to help our community.
The Downtown Kansas City hotel has established the United Way Junior Suite. For every night booked in that suite over the next year, $25 will be donated to United Way of Greater Kansas City. And every guest in the United Way Junior Suite will be treated to lots of goodies, including two Live United/Hotel Phillips t-shirts, a package of Operation Breakthrough note cards, and a thank you letter from United Way of Greater Kansas City President Brent Stewart.

The idea for the room sprung up during a brainstorming meeting for the United Way campaign at the hotel. “We wanted to do something bigger,” says Carrie Anderson, the director of human resources. It was General Manager Dan Bergmann who spearheaded the effort, which is a borrowed concept of sister hotel, the InterContinental Milwaukee. That hotel has a Pink Room, where a donation is made to a group dedicated to breast cancer support and information for every night the room is booked. “It is so well received that our management company wants to put pink rooms in all InterContiental hotels around the world,” Anderson says of Milwaukee’s Pink Room.

The United Way Junior Suite is a 430-square-foot corner room on the hotel’s upper floors. It has a king-sized, European-styled bed, a seating area with a customed-design sofa and a large bathroom. The room’s rate varies on availability, but regardless of the rate, every time someone stays in the room, a $25 donation is made to United Way. It already has had an impressive guest: a vice president of Marcus Hotels, which owns Hotel Phillips.

In addition to offering the room, Hotel Phillips has adorned the suite with art work done by the children at Operation Breakthrough, a United Way partner agency.

Hotel Phillips was also the place for a special happy hour in November that benefited United Way.
The fundraiser was made even more special by the selfless act of Kristen Eck, who was working as the official bartender that evening alongside our celebrity bartenders. Even though there was a large tip jar for donations to United Way, many patrons added hefty tips to their charge slips. “I knew they were for United Way, and I didn’t want to take money that wasn’t mine,” Kristen says. She donated her entire take for the evening to United Way.

Kristen says her life has improved in an important way thanks to United Way. During the hotel’s United Way campaign last year, Kristen heard about how United Way can help people find volunteer opportunities. She found her chance to give back to our community through Linwood United food pantry. She volunteers there three times a week as well as another program on weekends. “It really does a lot,” she says. “Anyone who volunteers knows that. It feels real good to be selfless.”

To make a reservation in the United Way Junior Suite at Hotel Phillips, 106 W. 12^th St., Kansas City,
call (816) 221-7000.

1 in 85,000

Posted on October 17, 2012 by unitedwaygkc

Sheila Styron is one of the approximately 85,000 people who give to United Way of Greater Kansas City.
To Sheila, there are lots of reasons to make that donation every year. “Your name is held in the highest esteem. You represent so many organizations,” Sheila says of United Way. “It is a good, safe place to do good.”

Conversely, Sheila can also give you a reason about why giving to United Way is tough. “I don’t make a lot of money,” she says. Sheila is public policy coordinator at The Whole Person, a partner agency of United Way of Greater Kansas City.

The Whole Person is a nonprofit that provides a range of community-based services for people with disabilities. It is one of the 145 human services agencies that are United Way partner agencies. Simply put, The Whole Person receives funding from United Way.

Sheila knows what it is like to live with a disability. She has been blind since birth. “I like to give,” Sheila says. “As a blind person, I don’t want to whine about what I don’t get. I like giving and helping people, not sitting around and looking for handouts.”

It may be surprising to some that in order to receive funding from United Way of Greater Kansas City, a partner agency, like The Whole Person, must hold a campaign. The reasoning is simple and direct. United Way would love it if every organization – whether it’s a nonprofit or for-profit – held a campaign. And, United Way believes, everyone – absolutely everyone – has the ability to give to help others.

And that’s perfectly OK with the folks at The Whole Person. The 87 employees there raised more than $4,600 for United Way this fall. “How can we ask for money and expect others to give to a mission if we don’t,” Mike Wiley, The Whole Person’s chief marketing officer. “I know it sounds simple, but it is.”

Mike has a unique perspective in that he actually volunteered to help determine United Way allocations when he worked at American Century Investments. “That’s a challenge,” he says. “There were hard decisions.”

Those hard decisions are made easier with every donation given to United Way, and show how important every donation is no matter the amount. That point was emphasized by our campaign co-chair Dan Hesse at the campaign kickoff in September. “We remain incredibly thankful for all contributions to United Way,” Hesse said.

That includes the contributions made by Deb Churchill over the past two decades. Deb works in consumer directed services at The Whole Person. When she joined The Whole Person in 2004 she had no idea how United Way and its programs could one day help her. Two years after starting work at The Whole Person, Deb was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

“Being here at this organization, it is all about working with people with disabilities,” says 63-year-old Deb says. “You get a good understanding of it. “I think it is necessary to give back,” Deb says. “We are all brothers and sisters. We need to provide for each other. If you have anything, you should share.”

Pears, Pecans and Hoping Growing in Mount Hope

Posted on October 9, 2012 by unitedwaygkc

Richard Nash stands tall in the midst of his labor on this warm autumn afternoon. At 6’1”, Nash literally towers over the orchard of young scrawny trees.

And when Nash gently cradles a pear – one that is just large enough to take the shape of a pear – in his large hand, he exudes the pride that any proud papa would have. After all, it was Nash who nurtured 160 newly-planted trees through the torment of this summer’s heat. The apple, plum, peach, apricot, pecan and pear trees at 29^th Street and Highland that will one day provide fresh fruit to the Mount Hope neighborhood.

It was Nash who would arrive at 6:00 am to spend the next eight hours hauling 300 feet of hose through the orchard in order to get water into the 20-gallon bags at the base of each tree. The so-called alligator bags would then provide a much needed slow soak of the trees’ roots.

On those relentlessly hot days, working all alone, Nash would glance up to the homes surrounding the orchard for inspiration. “The great thing be on my mind is the people who are going to be able to enjoy it when the labor is done and fruit is ready,” Nash says. That is the point of this orchard.

The trees were planted in late June as part of a community service partnership between Timberland PRO and SkillsUSA during SkillsUSA’s national conference in Kansas City. Lowe’s discounted the cost of the trees.
Having access to free fresh fruit is critical to a neighborhood where it isn’t uncommon for residents to drive 40 blocks or take multiple bus transfers in order to get to a grocery store.

Nash said there is no doubt the neighborhood loves the idea of the orchard. Almost every time he was in the orchard, someone would come by and talk. “They are really excited about it,” Nash said.

No one was more excited than Esther Kershaw, president of the Boston Heights & Mount Hope Neighborhood Association. Kershaw would regularly have to get the city’s help in clearing the massive dumping of tires in the area, which is just west of 71 Highway. “The trees will bear fruit for years to come,” Kershaw says. “The children can come to learn and enjoy the fruit for the rest of their lives. They will know that this is where an apple grows, it just doesn’t appear at a grocery store.”

The Urban Neighborhood Initiative, for which United Way of Greater Kansas City was a founding partner, gave a jumpstart to Nash’s work by providing a grant to Metro Lutheran Ministry. The ministry agreed to take care of the orchard for 10 years. UNI gave them funding needed for a part-time staff person to tend to the orchard.
Metro Lutheran Ministry executive director Jim Glynn knew who he wanted to care for the trees almost immediately. Nash has been a client of MLM. He was homeless several years ago, and has since sought food and utility assistance from the nonprofit organization.

Although before this summer, Nash’s agricultural skills were limited. “My wife has plants and I help take care of those, watering and such,” he says. Nash fell in love with the orchard job. “It feels good to be taking care of nature,” Nash says.

And, like any proud papa, he is having a hard time saying goodbye to what he has nurtured. He likes to drive by the orchard when he attends church at nearby Macedonia Baptist Church. “I gotta check on them,” he says.

The ability to check in on the orchard was made easier this fall when Nash used his earnings from working on the orchard to buy a 1977 Chevy pickup truck. For six months, Nash had to borrow a vehicle from his father-in-law. The truck is handy, too, for his job as a cook at BB’s Lawnside BBQ.

Nash visited his orchard this week and noticed how the cooler weather is affecting his babies. “The leaves are falling off – but they should,” Nash says. “They will be stronger next year.”

The Sky is the Limit

Posted on October 2, 2012 by unitedwaygkc

Robyn Dunham values education. She is two semesters away from receiving bachelor degrees in both criminology and psychology from University of Missouri-Kansas City. After that, she will pursue a master’s degree in counseling psychology.

Robyn also is a mom who is always looking for educational opportunities for her 2 ½-year-old son, Drake. That’s why she became so excited this summer when a flyer about a family fun event circulated in her Santa Fe Village apartment complex. The flyer and the family event were created by Aimee Alderman, Parents As Teachers Coordinator and site manager for the Success By 6 Resource Center at Boone Elementary in the Center School District located in South Kansas City.

The Success by 6 Resource Centers, a program of United Way of Greater Kansas City, provide the essentials for parents and children whether it is educational training, materials or technology stations. The resources are designed for everyone who touches a young child’s life, whether they are traditional parents, non-traditional parents, teen parents, child care providers, early childhood educators or parent educators.

A key to the program is a partnership with local school districts and organizations that make possible a Toy and Resource Lending Library filled with educational toys and books appropriate for children birth to age 8. All materials are available for checkout free of charge to anyone who works or lives with children from birth to the 12th grade in Clay, Platte, Cass or Jackson counties. There are 11 Success By 6 Resource Centers in the Kansas City area.

Aimee says the program’s flexibility and wide boundaries really help serve the community. “It allows so much freedom, really, the sky is the limit as far as support,” she says. “We run with that. We have plenty of ideas.”
For example, the guidelines say the center may provide up to third-grade development. Aimee says that makes it possible to help a 12-year-old who is actually reading at a third-grade level. “There is no restriction to serve that family if they are a part of our population and as long as I am strengthening families and communities,” Aimee says.

This summer’s events were designed as outreach. There were 20 nights of family fun events at five apartment and duplex complexes. There were 95 youth who attended, and 24 new Success By 6 families enrolled. There are about 650 families involved in the Success By 6 Resource Center at Boone Elementary. “They educated the families to let them know we are here to support the community,” Aimee says of the events. “And they provided family engagement activities.”

LaNeisha Ellis, who came to the events at Woodlen Place, loved the time with her two children who attended as well, 3-year-old Lionel Williams and 9-year-old LaMyah Williams. “My kids really enjoyed the activities, and I actually enjoyed them as well,” LaNiesha says. She and Lionel have come to the Success By 6 Resource Center at Boone Elementary. “It is very close to my house and I like how it is designed,” LaNeisha says. “My son has learned a lot even before he started school.”

Robyn says the resources are invaluable for her family. “I’m poor and I am trying to develop everything I can for my son,” she says. “But I cannot provide everything I’d like to.” Drake continues to learn from the two books he received at the family fun night events, one to help with his ABCs and another about animals in Africa. This makes Robyn excited and relieved. “I love the stuff they are doing,” Robyn says of the resource center. “It’s a confirmation that we are doing the right thing.”

The Wheel of Misfortune

Posted on September 4, 2012 by unitedwaygkc

Gary Thurman knows his gig can be a tough sell. After all, how inviting can you be wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with DISASTER.

Yet, Gary stands before a small and interested family talking tornadoes, earthquakes and chemical spills in the auditorium of the Robert J. Mohart Multipurpose FOCUS Center on Kansas City’s east side. The auditorium on this August evening is packed with tables hosted by a dozen or so programs offering useful information as part of the Urban Neighborhood Initiative’s Health Fair and Family Fun Night.

Gary, the Emergency Management Coordinator at United Way 2-1-1, has his set-up near the auditorium’s stage. There are lots of colorful brochures on the table, there are fun giveaways like water bottles in nearby boxes, and there is The Wheel of Misfortune. Spin the wheel, land on a disaster and Gary will talk with you.

Fire, flood and flu are uncomfortable topics for most people. Being armed with the right information on how to deal with these foes is absolutely essential to everyone. “It’s empowerment,” Gary explains. “You don’t want people walking away shaking in their boots thinking God is going to get them. We want people to know that there are things you can do. You don’t have to be a powerless victim.”

United Way of Greater Kansas City is an affiliate member of the Metropolitan Emergency Management Committee. The committee, comprised of all the emergency managers in the Kansas City region, coordinates emergency management activities. Prepare Metro KC is an outreach program that brings the brochures and the Wheel of Misfortune to places like the Health Fair and Family Fun Night.

”The wheel is a way to draw people in to engage in conversation about preparation,” Gary says. “I make it interesting and exciting to talk on a topic most people are scared of. You don’t want people to shut down and then do nothing.” If people know what to do in a disaster it can actually help the first responders attend to the most urgent needs. ”We have lessened the strain on the system,” Gary says.

The Wheel of Misfortune produces critical educational moments. “There are a lot of myths about preparation,” Gary says. “There are a lot of myths that get people killed.” For example, Gary says a lot people think the first thing you do when an earthquake begins is run and stand under a doorway. Nope. Running to a doorway puts you in peril of things falling on you. Instead, get under the heaviest thing you can, like a desk or table, and hold on. And if a tornado is coming, don’t bother opening up windows. You need to head to the basement – pronto.

There is a lot to learn, so visit Gary at the Kids Safety Fair in Independence on Sept. 15 and Liberty Fun Festival on Sept. 29. It is a great way to celebrate the fact that September is National Preparedness Month. Go ahead, spin the wheel. It could save your life.

Starting Something You Never Did

Posted on August 28, 2012 by unitedwaygkc

When Devin was in his first few months of life, his father was committing crimes that would send him to prison for more than 18 years. In the first few months of his son’s life, Devin is researching scholarships to Park University and University of Missouri-Kansas City.

What made the difference in the paths of these two fathers? Devin will give much of the credit to a program of United Way of Greater Kansas City. Indeed, Devin has made a lot of life-changing decisions in his 20 years. Some were bad decisions that led to him leaving school in the ninth grade. An important decision that he says has changed his life for the good was enrolling in Project Rise.

United Way is part of this innovative program for young adults to tackle the underlying causes of poverty. Project Rise is designed to re-engage young adults ages 18 to 24, who are not working or going to school, by placing them in paid internships and encouraging them to continue their education. The goal is to better prepare them to enter the workforce. Project Rise is modeled after similar young adult programs launched in New York City. Kansas City is one of three cities involved in the national collaboration testing.

Because of Project Rise, Devin is one of the first in his family to graduate from high school. And the Kansas Citian did it in style: He was the valedictorian at the Kansas City area GED graduation ceremony in May.

When Devin was younger, school became less important than being able to have a job and earn money. ”I was always thinking I would get a GED,” he says. The importance of having a high school diploma escalated for Devin when he was being considered for a promotion.

Devin’s enrollment into Project Rise happened by chance. He was unemployed at the time. His girlfriend’s mother suggested Devin go to the Full Employment Council because she heard there would be auto-manufacturing jobs there. Devin went but didn’t find the jobs. “Honestly, I think she just wanted me to get out of the house,” Devin says with a smile.

There might not have been any auto-manufacturing jobs that day – but there was information about Project Rise. ”When they told me about it, I said, ‘You can’t be serious. This is exactly what I need’,” Devin says. ”It has helped me so much. It gave me the stability because I need to buckle down and provide a future.”

Devin became a father to a son less than a month ago. He has a job at a fast-food restaurant and is planning on attending college next spring semester. Devin is now working to establish a healthy relationship with his father. It is difficult because of the different paths each man took. His father, Devin says, was in prison beginning when Devin was seven months old. His father was released about a year ago. ”I told him I am trying to start something you never did,” Devin says.

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